Mahathir visits troops in Bosnia

Mahathir visits troops in Bosnia

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday visited Malaysian soldiers serving with the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the national news agency Bernama reported.

It quoted a Foreign Affairs Ministry statement as saying Mahathir arrived in Split before going to the Malaysian Battalion headquarters in Konjic for a one-day visit.

Mahathir and his wife Siti Hasmah Ali left Kuala Lumpur last week for a three-week holiday in Europe. He will be in France on July 6 for a four-day official visit.

Mainly Moslem Malaysia has been a vocal supporter of Moslem- dominated government of Bosnia-Herzegovina which has been involved in a civil war with Bosnian Serbs and, for a time, Croats since the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Mahathir sent about 1,500 troops to Bosnia-Herzegovina last December under an Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) initiative.